Christopher Berarducci
About Christopher Berarducci
Christopher Berarducci serves as Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer of Western Asset Municipal High Income Fund Inc. (MHF) and has held these offices since 2019. His principal occupation is Vice President, Fund Administration and Reporting at Franklin Templeton (since 2020); prior roles at Legg Mason & Co. include Managing Director (2020), Director (2015–2020), and Vice President (2011–2015). Birth year: 1974. Fund proxies state officers receive no compensation from the Fund (other than reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses), and do not disclose officer-specific performance metrics (e.g., TSR, revenue, EBITDA) tied to compensation.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Templeton | Vice President, Fund Administration and Reporting | Since 2020 | — |
| Legg Mason & Co. | Managing Director | 2020 | — |
| Legg Mason & Co. | Director | 2015–2020 | — |
| Legg Mason & Co. | Vice President | 2011–2015 | — |
External Roles
No public company directorships or external board roles are disclosed for Mr. Berarducci in MHF’s proxy statements. Officer biographies list Fund-related and adviser-affiliated responsibilities only.
Fixed Compensation
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Compensation from MHF | Officers of the Fund receive no compensation from the Fund; they may be reimbursed for reasonable out‑of‑pocket travel expenses to attend Board meetings. |
| Employer of record | Employed within Franklin Templeton’s fund administration/reporting function; service as Fund officer is elected annually by the Board. Compensation, if any, is paid by Franklin affiliates, not by MHF (amounts not disclosed in MHF proxies). |
| Base salary, target/actual bonus | Not disclosed in MHF filings (Fund does not pay officers). |
| Perquisites | Only travel expense reimbursement disclosed for officers; no other perquisites disclosed for officers. |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metric Linkage | Vesting | Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash incentive | — | — | Not applicable—MHF does not compensate officers. No bonus metrics disclosed. |
| RSUs/PSUs | — | — | Not disclosed for officers; Fund does not grant equity to officers. |
| Stock options | — | — | Not disclosed for officers; Fund does not grant options to officers. |
Fund proxy materials do not present any officer-level pay-for-performance construct (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR). Officers are not compensated by the Fund.
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | Disclosure | As of Date |
|---|---|---|
| Individual beneficial ownership (Berarducci) | Not individually disclosed for officers in proxies. | — |
| Group beneficial ownership (Directors + officers) | Less than 1% of outstanding shares of Common Stock (group). | Feb 7, 2024 |
| Group beneficial ownership (Directors + officers) | Less than 1% of outstanding shares of Common Stock (group). | Feb 7, 2025 |
| Group beneficial ownership (Directors + officers) | Less than 1% of outstanding shares of Common Stock (group). | Feb 8, 2022 |
| Pledging/hedging by officers | No pledging/hedging policy disclosures for officers in proxy; no officer pledging disclosed. | |
| Stock ownership guidelines (officers) | Not disclosed for officers in MHF proxies (director dollar ranges disclosed, but no officer guidelines). |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Office election and tenure | Executive officers are chosen each year at a regular meeting of the Board to hold office until successors are duly elected and qualified; Mr. Berarducci has served since 2019. |
| Employment agreement | No employment contract terms with MHF disclosed for officers. |
| Severance/change‑of‑control | No officer severance or change‑of‑control provisions disclosed for MHF officers. |
| Non‑compete/non‑solicit | Not disclosed for officers in MHF proxies. |
| Clawbacks/tax gross‑ups | Not disclosed for officers in MHF proxies. |
| Expense policy | Officers may be reimbursed for reasonable out‑of‑pocket travel expenses to attend Board meetings. |
| Section 16 compliance | Fund states required ownership filings were met in the referenced fiscal year; no non‑compliance noted. |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment at the Fund officer level is not a lever: MHF does not compensate officers, and there are no disclosed bonus metrics, equity awards, or option grants for Mr. Berarducci. Compensation, if any, resides at Franklin Templeton affiliates and is not reported in MHF proxies. This limits the use of officer incentives as trading signals for MHF.
- Insider selling pressure and equity alignment signals are minimal from the officer cohort: individual officer holdings are not disclosed; group beneficial ownership (directors and officers) is consistently less than 1% of outstanding shares, and no pledging disclosures appear in proxies.
- Retention risk tied to MHF is low from a compensation perspective: officers are elected annually and not paid by the Fund; continuity is more a function of Franklin Templeton’s internal employment terms rather than MHF-specific contracts. No severance/change‑of‑control or clawback terms are disclosed at the Fund level for officers.
- Governance context: the Board and its committees conduct risk oversight and meet regularly; officer roles support reporting/compliance rather than investment decision‑making, so portfolio performance drivers for MHF should be analyzed via adviser/subadviser strategy (FTFA/Western Asset) and distribution policy rather than officer incentives.
Net takeaway: There are no officer-level compensation levers or equity award structures at MHF to generate actionable pay-for-performance or insider‑selling signals regarding Mr. Berarducci; focus diligence on adviser/subadviser performance, fee structure, and fund distribution/discount dynamics for tradeable catalysts.